LAHORE – A Lahore High Court judge and a lawyer on Tuesday traded barbs when the petitioner’s counsel asked the court that he had not been heard before issuing notice to the Punjab education secretary on a petition against hike in fee for matriculation examination to be commenced from March.
Justice Nasir Saeed Sheikh on Tuesday sought report from the secretary on a petition moved by Advocate Mian Tahir Mahmood.
When the judge resumed court, Advocate Mahmood appeared and asked the judge that his petition was marked before this court but it was not showing in the cause list. The counsel said he wanted to know the status of his petition.
The judge replied that he had studied the petition and sought report and comments from the education secretary.
At this, the counsel said being petitioner counsel he had not been heard before any proceedings on the petition. He tried to convince the court that instead of seeking reports from government an immediate stay order was necessary before the December 24 because the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) was going collection of the fee from the said date. But the judge replied to the counsel that he was wasting the time of court.
The counsel again said the BISE was going to collect the fee from December 24 and the case would be in-fructuous after the said date. The judge again asked the counsel that he was wasting the court time and the stay order could not be granted in the petition.
Meanwhile, the counsel left the courtroom when the judge warned that he would dismiss his petition if he would not stop insisting for stay order.